There are many horrible numbers popping out of Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. And lots of others that apply to the yr. However the worst of the worst is the sheer lack of possibilities Pittsburgh is creating for itself. My big-brained take is that it’s exhausting to win in case you don’t have the ball. And the Steelers have held the ball about as little as any group has previously 22 seasons.
On the yr, Pittsburgh’s offense is averaging a paltry 55 performs per sport. Getting into Monday Evening Soccer, that’s final within the NFL. For comparability, the Steelers’ offense of a yr in the past averaged 62.6 performs per sport. A season that included a 41-play outing in opposition to the Philadelphia Eagles.
In 2025, there are not any outliers. Pittsburgh is persistently lagging behind within the snap depend. In opposition to the Chargers, the Steelers have been out-snapped 69 to 50. Pittsburgh hasn’t had extra snaps than its opponent all season lengthy.
To place that into additional context, I checked the snap depend numbers since 2003. The nice of us at Group Rankings present that historic information. Pittsburgh is without doubt one of the worst offenders. From 2003 by way of 2025, listed here are the underside ten models.
Fewest Group Offensive Performs Per Sport (2003-2025)
12 months/Group
Performs Per Sport
2005 49ers
54.1
2018 Dolphins
54.9
2025 Steelers
55.0
2020 Soccer Group
55.3
2025 Dolphins
55.9
2003 Texans
56.0
2021 Seahawks
56.1
2006 Payments
56.1
2025 Ravens
56.2
2018 Cardinals
56.4
At present, Pittsburgh ranks third-worst. Solely the 2005 San Francisco 49ers and 2018 Miami Dolphins, two groups that mixed to win 11 video games, have fared worse.
Evident as it’s, the ’25 numbers may shift. Three groups from this season make up the listing, and one excessive snap depend can soar the quantity out of this group. With Lamar Jackson again in tow, the Ravens are more likely to ascend the remainder of the season. Baltimore simply ran 66 performs in Sunday’s win over the Minnesota Vikings.
There’s proof the Steelers received’t comply with swimsuit. Pittsburgh isn’t getting a franchise quarterback again within the lineup, and the offense has largely been wholesome. As a substitute, the Steelers are struggling on third down and are unable to increase drives to rack up the snap depend, controlling the ball and the sport, together with going 2-of-11 in Week 10.
Right here’s their game-by-game snap depend.
1. Jets – 542. Seahawks – 593. Patriots – 494. Vikings – 535. Browns – 586. Bengals – 547. Packers – 578. Colts – 619. Chargers – 50
Pittsburgh’s solely reached the 60s in a single sport this season. This season, 21 groups are averaging a minimum of 60 snaps per sport.
Huge performs can “harm” snap counts. Hit lengthy touchdowns, and your snaps naturally lower. That’s not taking place to Pittsburgh. The Steelers entered Monday evening thirty first league-wide with simply 89 performs of 10 yards or extra. Of “explosive” go performs, Pittsburgh’s on tempo to complete the yr with simply 39. A worse determine than any of the previous 5 years and barely higher than 2019, a season that began Mason Rudolph and Duck Hodges. Although performs like WR DK Metcalf’s 80-yard Dublin landing and TE Pat Freiermuth’s 68-yard rating stick out, fast scores aren’t artificially bringing this quantity down.
Even in video games the place Pittsburgh must be possessing the ball, they aren’t. Within the five-takeaway sport in opposition to New England, the Steelers have been out-snapped 71-49. Within the six-takeaway sport versus Indianapolis two weeks in the past, it was the same story. The Colts out-snapped the Steelers 74-61.
It’s inexplicable. It’s exhausting to imagine Pittsburgh has been this dangerous for greater than half the season. And within the inverse, it’s forcing the Steelers’ protection to be on the sphere greater than anybody else. Not fairly the historic variety of the offense, although it’s shut, however for a veteran roster, it’s not sustainable. Pittsburgh’s protection can do extra to get its personal stops and provides the ball again to the offense; the third-down protection ranks twenty second, however that is centrally an offensive drawback. Even when the protection performs effectively, the offense can’t hold the ball.
It’s no marvel that Pittsburgh’s offense has typically been out of sync and unable to get right into a rhythm. The performs aren’t there to construct upon one thing. It’s spurts and stops and begins, which is mirrored within the offensive efficiency that has been equally disjointed.
